


Say You Won't Let Go

by Krazykoolkitty214



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: #klancelockdownweek2020, Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Day 1: Closet, Day 2: Elevator, Day 3: Keith's Room, Day 4: Lion, Day 5: Space Mall, Day 6: Monsters and Mana AU, Day 7: Free Day, Gay Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23398144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krazykoolkitty214/pseuds/Krazykoolkitty214
Summary: So this is for @vhms0ul on Instagram who made the #klancelockdownweek2020 and ofc I didn't want to pass up the chance to write something.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 13





	1. Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Talk about torture, malnutrition, and mentions of PTSD.

It was dark. 

It felt cold. 

Lance didn't know what had came over him. 

Maybe it was the day where it all began. That same putrid, vile day that kept circling around both his and Keith's mind, where he knew he wouldn't ever recover from. It was quickly approaching, and Lance couldn't help but panic. 

Lance had soon discovered a little less than a year ago that the world wasn't this glorified thing. War had broken out between a few planets years back, and with the fragile peace treaty in place to stop the onslaught of death and destruction, nothing was really the same. 

Lance had gone out for groceries, as Keith was sleeping off the night shift from where he worked with the police force. They were running low on basic necessities, and he had decided it was time to get out and buy a few things. 

_"Kosmo, take care of Keith while I'm gone, okay? I'll be back in thirty," Lance rubbed the young wolf's head, before leaving the apartment._

Little did Lance know, he was not gonna be back in thirty minutes. He was just coming back with groceries, a block away from the apartment, when he got knocked out in a alley way. Enemy combatants from one of the planets were scouring out the people to use as leverage against the world governments to gain more expenses. 

What they did to him for the following two months was pure torture. Each week they would give him food in weird intervals, which forced said Cuban to stowaway the nutrients for when he was hungry and the men wouldn't give him anything. The food was either mashed potato or this weird food goo that tasted very dry. He horded water, scared that it would evaporate or be taken away from him at any seconds notice. They would only give him the bare minimum to live off of, and Lance was severely underweight.

Despite that, they would torture him and others for information nobody knew about. Lance had been one of the more used people. He had gotten into trouble by defending others, and they had soldiers take him into brightly lit rooms and torture him. It may be beating him until his bones broke, quickly setting them in place only to have them barely healed before breaking other parts of the bone. Or even to the point of electrocuting said man. Or cutting him up, but not enough for him to bleed out.

Lance only hoped that he would see Keith again. 

There were few close calls in which Lance had wanted to give up. But he relented, and waited to be saved. 

It wasn't until late evening on the two month mark where he was saved. Lance had given his rations to others that were in need of eating, and was sipping water. He had heard some men walking around, and everybody hid the nutrients of the day. The metal door creaked open, and Lance could vividly hear the man telling him that he was needed. Lance had tried to hide in a dark spot, but the man saw him shuffling away. 

The man had grabbed him roughly by the wrist (which had rope burns and bruises), and tugged him away from what Lance felt was a safe haven. They brought him into another brightly lit room, where everything was lit white, instead of the dim lights in the corridors that brought him there. 

Lance had been pushed into a chair in which he was immediately hand-cuffed behind his back. 

_"Now, Blue Eyes, I want to hear those pretty vocals scream."_ Lance heard someone say, but he was looking down at his dirty feet, and he craved for a shower. 

The session (as he called these torturous events) began with a random question about the Government that Lance didn't know the answer to. His hair had been gripped tightly, as he saw one of the men's ugly snarl. He was smacked in the face, and he knew there was going to be a bruise on his cheek. 

Then, he heard a crackle on the walkie-talkie the men had on their sides. 

_Intruders._

Lance only groaned in response, the only sound after the message had been delivered. Lance was left alone in the room as several men left the room to confront said intruders. 

Or at least, that's what he had thought. 

A large man stayed behind, and had started to torture him once more, but this time with a knife. For every answer Lance gave him, the man had begun scratching him lightly, before digging in the knife on the scratch line. Lance only whimpered, so used to the numbness of the pain.

He was losing consciousness when the door to the room had opened, and the knife stabbed him in the side. Lance had let out a guttural scream of pain, and he blanked out in pain. Lance could only recall flashes of the rescue. He was carried, a flash of dark hair, the shooting of guns, and heartbreaking cries. 

When he had awoken, he was in a bright room in the hospital, and he immediately began to panic, thinking he was still back in that damn awful place. The heart-beat monitor beeped quickly, and a bunch of nurses had come in to settle him down from his panic attack.

He was safe. He was saved.

Lance didn't have to go back.

It was a flurry of motion for a few minutes, before said nurses left. The door had been closed, and Lance was close to sleeping when he heard the door open. He opened an eye, and saw the prettiest sight.

Keith had been there, standing in disbelief, worry, and hope. He shakily walked over to Lance, and both had broken down in each other's arm. He learnt how difficult it was for Keith, and how the late nights exhausted him. Keith had stayed with his brother and his partners, and alternating between their home and the apartment. Lance had briefly told his story to him, breaking and stayed quiet.

With extensive therapy, bed rest for all his physical injuries, and even bringing a guard dog home that he'd named Blue, Lance thought he was getting better. They had moved into a bigger house, in a better neighborhood closer to their friends and family. 

Yet, now he was hiding in the closet, the door closed, and in a dark place. He was shaking and he didn't know how long he stayed there, but he knew Blue and Kosmo were on the other side of the door, whining but keeping him company and guarding said closet. 

Tears had streamed down his face, and Lance wanted those memories gone. He wanted the horribleness of the event off his skin, away from his mind. He hid from the world for who knows how long. 

Lance didn't hear the front door to the house opening. He didn't hear the dogs walking away. He didn't hear the footsteps on the floorboards in the room. He did hear the scratches on the door, and Lance softly whined, his head murky. 

The closet door opened, letting bright light enter. He whimpered, and tightly brought in his body, trying to become one with the darkness. 

"Lance?" He heard a voice. Lance groaned, shaking in fear. The light was blocked, except for the top half, and Lance saw a face.

"Hey, Honey it's me. It's Keith. Can you breath with me? In five, hold three, out five," he heard the voice say. Lance did what the voice said, and he had calmed down, enough for his body to not be as tight. 

Keith left and turned off the light, and came back to the closet. 

"Want me to go in with you?" Lance nodded. The closet door closed and both maneuvered themselves so Lance was lying against Keith instead of the wall. Lance was more calm with Keith beside him.

"I'm here. I have you. I love you," Keith whispered, as he rubbed Lance's back. 

Lance closed his eyes, pressing his head against Keith's chest. Hearing his heartbeat, Lance knew that he was safe in Keith's arms. Away from the darkness of the world.


	2. Como La Flor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Elevators
> 
> wEE, so I kinda forgot today was the day that Selena Quintanilla died 25 years ago, so I'm making this less angsty ig WOO

Ever since Keith was younger, he knew how it was living in a house. Hell, he was born in a house, his mom too weak to move anywhere else other than the bed she was sleeping in. His dad had panicked and called the hospital after his mom gave birth. According to his mother, his dad was too afraid to do anything other than catch him. Keith had laughed and teased his dad, who only took it in stride. 

After being born in the house in the middle of Arizona, they had moved into a more urban area, another house in a better neighborhood. His mom had begun working, and Keith was left to stay with the Shiroganes, their next door neighbors. Luckily for him, he had someone to play with, even though Shiro was just a bit older. By a bit, Keith meant three years. So there was a six-year-old being trailed by a three-year-old during the summer. 

Even with the gap, they were close friends. 

"Hey, Takashi? Do you think there are aliens out there?" Keith had asked once, as both kids were in the Kogane's front yard looking up at the stars. The adults were having a beer and keeping an eye out on the two children. 

Shiro turned to the little kid, who gave him a curious stare. "I think so. What else other than us could be out there?"

"Rocks."

"Oh, yeah! The moon is a rock! Want me to show you constellations?"

After that evening hang-out, Keith had tiredly exclaimed that he was going to become the "bestest space man ever!" His parents had laughed and tucked him in. 

Keith had forgotten about being a "Space man" ever since he was forced into riding a roller coaster when his and Shiro's family. He was excited going on, but came off of it crying and green in the face. It was safe to say that Keith would stay Earth-bound, but he loved adventure. Keith had decided he was going to be a private investigator, like Inspector Gadget. 

Then he decided he liked cars and would become a racer after seeing a cool car with a loud engine. 

Then a firefighter like his dad, but his dad had said a blatant,"What about something else?"

Keith had decided he would become a cryptid hunter at the age of ten, after figuring out what Mothman and The Lockness Monster were. 

That was around the time he met Katie Holt, Shiro's best friend's little sister. 

"Hey, Keith! This is Matt, my new friend! This is Katie, his little sister," Shiro had introduced them to the younger kid. Matt had stuck out his hand with a small grin. Keith only gave him a blank stare.

"Don't worry, we just moved in- IS THAT A DRAWING OF MOTHMAN?" Katie had all but screamed at Keith. His eye's brightened up, ignoring how Matt retracted his hand with a small blush.

"Yeah! I'm going to marry him one day!" 

"I'm going to marry Nessie!"

"Neat!" They both ran off to the back of Shiro's house.

"So that was a thing," Matt had snorted. Shiro smiled.

"Yep."

After some time, Keith became close to Katie and Matt. He was closer to Katie in age, only a year apart from one another, and had come to look at both siblings as best friends. 

It was at fourteen where Keith had a big revelation.

"Hey, Keith? Can you call me Pidge?" Katie had asked one day. Keith looked down at the smaller person, who looked more like a small kid rather than a sprouting teen.

"Uh, sure, why?"

"I'm non-binary."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't really feel like a girl. Or like a guy. I kinda began feeling this way since, well, two years ago? I've only told Matt, and well, I wanted to tell you too. I'm not anybody different, I'm still me, I just, don't like female pronouns."

"Cool, what pronouns-"

"They/them please," Pidge replied, a small shaky smile gracing their lips. Keith smiled back, and that night he decided to do some research.

It was then that he knew, he was gay.

Albeit, he didn't immediately figure it out. Yet, over the next few weeks of freshman year he would become more aware of his feelings. It wasn't until senior year that he came out to Pidge, Shiro and Matt. They took it pretty good, considering a) Pidge was non-binary, b) Matt was "a flaming bisexual" and c) Shiro was gay as well. 

Then Keith got accepted into Garrison University, which was 45 minutes away from where his parents lived. He decided that doing to communal trip every morning was just a waste of gas and time to sleep in, so he decided to live on-campus.

What a mistake that was. 

Well, not entirely. He had the one roommate by the name of Lance McClain. Their dorm was a bit big, with two separate rooms, a hall going into a small kitchen, with the bathroom right across the hall in which they shared with a guy named Hunk Garrett and James Griffin. Lance and Hunk were best friends, but Keith and James were not as cool with one another at all.

It may have been the whole rivalry with Griffin being a astrophysics major and music minor, while Keith was a business major and dance minor. It was a really violent year full of pranks. 

Yet, with Lance, it was more like a game between one another. Since Lance was also getting a minor in dance, but a major in marine biology, both of them always competed for the better marks. 

Again, Keith had only ever lived in a house, and never a apartment. So when he left his dorm with Lance to go and practice a routine their teacher partnered them up for, they decided it be quicker to go in a elevator than the staircase. 

"So, I was wondering if we should probably incorporate multiple dances from different cultures," Lance was saying as both entered the small machine. Keith hummed in response, as he pressed the floor button, before the doors slid close. 

"And to incorporate said dances, we'd need a good mix of music. I was thinking-" then the elevator abruptly stopped, lights flickering. Keith looked at the floor number, and he noticed there were three more floors to go down.

"Well, fuck," Lance murmured. Keith groaned. There went their time well spent. 

It's not like he didn't like Lance. He did. More than he'd like to admit. Ever since the day the Cuban declared himself as his dance rival, both became quick friends, helping one another out. They became close, with inside jokes, watching movies on weekends, and Lance had met Pidge when they arrived to see Keith. 

Pidge had given the seal of approval to Keith. 

"Never been stuck in a elevator before," Keith frowned. Lance turned to him, eyes shining as he pressed the red emergency button. 

"Usually takes hours. I've got stuck a few times before, since Hunk used to live in a apartment before his siblings were born. All we can do is wait, and not make that much movement," Lance said as he sat down. Keith sat across him, legs crossing. 

They both went on their phones, before a message went through the elevator.

_Emergency service will be there soon to retrieve you._

Lance huffed. Setting down their phones, Lance looked at Keith.

"Wanna play truth or dare?"

"How the hell are we gonna do any dares?"

"We'll be creative."

"Sure."

"Truth or dare, Keithy," Lance said, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Truth," he replied. It went on for a while, until it became a game of 20 questions. 

"Once I climbed a tree, and pushed Marco off by accident because there wasn't enough space for me. My mom threw her chancla at me, and I thought I was a goner," Lance smiled at the memory, as Keith chuckled. Lance had moved over to where Keith was sitting, exchanging stories.

"I accidentally punched a guy I liked because I didn't know how to control my feelings," Keith said. Lance guffawed.

"You what?!"

"I'm sorry, I was a noodly sophomore, and the guy was pretty cute! I thought punching my feelings was a good way to let go, and accidentally punched him," Keith defended. Lance snorted. 

"Well, luckily you don't like anybody, or I would have heard that you punched someone in the gut," Lance smiled. Keith rolled his eyes. 

"Who said I didn't like anybody?"

"You do?"

"Yeah. He's nice, sweet, very passionate about things." Where did this confidence even come from?

"What's his name?"

"You already know him," Keith smiled. Lance took a deep breath, his hands clenching into a fist.

"Is it Hunk? Cause I'm telling you now, he's straight and in love with Shay." Keith shook his head.

"Two more guesses."

"... James?"

"No! He's a dick, and I'm _this_ close to ending him," Keith growled. "Last guess."

Lance looked up, and Keith turned to him, a faint blush on his face. Lance looked down, blue eyes peering into a violet glimmer. 

"...me?" Keith didn't say a thing, even though he was becoming an interesting shade of red. 

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss me." Which immediately followed a chaste kiss. Which turned into more and more kisses. They didn't dare move apart,but they knew once the elevator was fixed, their bubble of privacy would be gone.

So they savored every moment. 


End file.
